sander

Cool, but not sure I like how the chrono pushers meet the case.

what's wrong with it?

I know how you feel

LESSON TO LEARN:

Allways unscrew the strap-screws to change the strap....do not use the case-strap screws as these are a bit weak in their thread.

Theo

They are made of butter.

Becarefull, if you leave your watch too long in the sun they will melt!

i suspect the datewindow you received was from the latest version ROO with AP sourced base movement and a DD module on top, because none of your other frankens experienced this issue.

which cyclops did you use?

I don't know which one it is. Every part was brand new and packed individually with AP numbers. Normally I use the window that comes with the movement.

After the installation these is no difference with the standard DD window. The square hole is the same size as the standard one.

The colour is kinda gold. Always thought it was silver. I used the Cyclops that came with the movement.

Thanks for the compliments.

At this moment I’m not working on watches at all.

The problem is that I have underestimated the total amount of time these projects take.

It’s not really the time to build them but it’s the communication time (email) which causes a lot of extra work.

Also shipping these beauties is becoming more and more stressful. I never ever lost one package but there is always a first one.

Although I’m not responsible for shipping risks, I would feel terrible if one got lost. So every time I get an email that the watch didn’t arrive yet, I have a sleepless night.

(talking about very hard to find products and a lot of money!)

Sorry guy’s!

Nice! By the way, Sander, your PM box is full. Don't know if you got my last pm.

I don't know what's going on.... I was a platinum member but for some reason I'm not anymore

I'll contact Admin to see what's going on.

Hey guy’s,

It’s been a while since my last post.

The reason is that I recently started a new company, which has nothing to do with watches.

Unfortunately there are only 24 hours in a day and with 2 young kids, there is just not enough time to play arround.

In January I’ve build a nice AP for a friend who is not a member of this forum. Since I really love the look of it, I would like to share it with you.

I received:

Baume & Mercier watch with a LWO 283 movement. (complete with box and papers )

Sec @ 12 as a donor watch

Gen AP dial

Gen AP Tachyring

Gen AP hand set

Gen AP date window

Gen AP croc strap

The work I did:

Serviced the movement and Dubois Depraz module

Fitted the genuine AP date window in the Dubouis Depraz module.

Made a new inner case to fit the movement

Lowered the crown

Modded the chrono pushers to work with the movement

Shaved the case back

Polished and brushed the case.

The LWO 283 movement is made with a Dubios Depraz chrono module (same as AP is using) on top of an Eta 2892-A2 movement.

Unfortunately the complete movement was in pretty bad shape. It had some water damage and wasn’t serviced for many years. It was not running at all.

The Eta parts are easy to find but replacement parts for the Dubois Depraz module are impossible to find .

So all the rusted parts were cleaned and polished again to make them look and function like new. After the overhaul the movement functions like new.

My customer received a gen AP datewindow with the dail and hand set. (he bought it from someone who wanted to replace his old blue dial for this white model, so the date window also needed to be replaced)

I expected the swapp to be easy but when I received it I was really surprised. The square hole was not in the middel of window so It wouldn’t work with the date wheel.

I had to do some modding to make it work. Seems like AP is using a slightly modded DD module after all……to make myself clear I made a drawing.

I lowered the crown and shaved the case back. The total thickness is now 14.57mm instead of the standard 15.78mm. It’s only 1.21mm less but when you compare it side by side it’s a huge difference!

I always thought that this model was a little boring but in reall life it’s great looking.

Hope you like the pics.

Cheer,

Sander

Here you go sir!

lovely..I've seen the gen before this..I always like it.. Its true if you build the whole watch maybe alot of people will like it... I do like it..but at the moment..not enoughh $$ for Xmas ..

anyway..what is the waiting period ?

Not really sure yet. it's getting busy lately

Hey Sander,

I would be interested in AP ROO black themes with gen dial like your holy grail.

PM me if you're selling it

I'm also interested in a AP ROO Safari mod with gen dial.

Thanks

If you have the dial, I can build it for you

I think next to the Paris Tri-compax dial, that one is my favorite! Can this be done with a Paris dial? Is a 2892-A2 with Tri-Compax Chrono easily sourced? (for that matter, is a Paris dial that easily sourced? )

You mean this one right?

Would be tough to find the dial. Also, if I'm not mistaken, the movement you mean is the 2020. This one doesn't have a date.

wow, amazing!! let me see if I understood: for around $1500 you will sell the same watch in your pictures and you will take care for all the parts (watch+parts)?

thanks

Yes.

Sander, yes you do build them.... and like nobody else! That's not my particular preference in dials, but I'd definitely be interested in a sander-aproo !

Heeeee...... find a dial and I'll build it

I think that if you did a complete watch, there would be quite a bit of interest in this! The one you built is gorgeous! Which model is this ROO?

This pics are the budget model which will cost arround $ 1500,-

The dial is the blue hobnail dial. I don't this model has a name.

Although I have some nice other franken pieces, this is one of my favorites. The blue color is different everytime you look at it.

It turns from gray into almost navy blue.

Easy swap?

How handy are you?

The first one I did took me more than 60 hours. Now I know how to do it, it takes me about 14 to 15 hours.

A few difficulties:

The pushers won't work with the movement and need to be modded.

The crown can be lowered (it's not a must) but the pushers still needs modification.

A complete new inner case needs to be made.

If you do not have the gen hands, you need to broach the chrono hands and make new hand tubes for the hour and minute hand.

(the rep hands sizes are 1.20mm for the minute and 2.0mm for the hour hand. The movement needs 0,9 for the minute and 1.20 for the hour hand.)

99% of the time the date window needs to be painted matte black or matte silver because the movements normally come with a polished window.

I assume you have a gen dial right?

If you are handy, it's a fun project. Go for it!

If not, it's a waist of money!

Hi Guys,

I get a lot of requests from people who ask me if can make them a franken APROO.

Yes I can.

I actually make 2 models:

Model 1 (Ultimate franken)

Model 2 (Budget franken)

The Ultimate franken will have a LWO movement (ETA 2892-A2 with dubois Depraz module) with a lowered crown and a shaved case back. The case is a sec @ 12 model

The Budget franken will have a modded seconds @ 12 movement and will not come standard with a lowered crown and shaved case back. These mods are also possible for this model but would be too expensive.

Also the budget model will have the sec @ 12 case.

I have build 6 or 7 with these movements so far and there are no problems with them.

I even have one with a power reserve of 52 hours and 13 minutes

Normally I just do the modding and the customer supplies me the parts.

Prices are very individual because I don't know what you have and what you want me to be done.

So PM me if you have interest.

Beside the mentioned above, I'm also thinking about a little project to sell complete watches.

So you don't have to take care of the parts.

Just checking with you guys if there is interest for it.

The model will be the budget model with the modded sec @ 12 movement.

They will have the blue hobnail dial and the hands will be relumed with SL C3 to match it.

The donor watches are the seconds @ 12 model. They are brand new and come with a steel bracelet.

The dial and tachyring are gen with no visible damage.

I have built one for myself to show you how it looks. (this one has a missing silver line on the seconds subdial. The ones sold will not have this.)

I have to determine the final price but I guess it will be around $ 1500,-

Pics:

I also made some pics of the shaved case back and lowered crown for the Ultimate model

Just let me know if there is interest.

What's up with the silver date window? It's the old model...

Thanks for the tips, I guess I'll just order a large oiler. (when I first started I only ordered the smallest ones to make sure I didn't over oil by mistake )

Just use a small screwdriver. It works just as good as the large oiler.

where are you located?

Just use a large oiler or a small screwdriver. I use size 100 and normally 1 drip is enough to fill the cup

Franken Navy for me today.

Could be nice if you put a blue strap on it.

If I look at the hands, I'm not sure if they are gen. If they fit without any moddification, you can be sure they are rep.

(gen has different size hand tubes)

Did you take off the plastic protection sticker?

Just kidding....

Yes you should complain about it.

It seems like a problem with the AR. Did it came from the a dealer like this?

The first models came with a problem like this but I thought it was solved.

Any way, you need a replacement crystal.

HOLY MOTHER OF DSLR!!! M, that shot is freakin ridiculous!!! I'm speechless

+1

I'm into AP lately so today it was time for the franken red dial.